Furnace-charging method



March 23 1926.

w. E. NEWNAM FURNACE crmneme METHOD Original Filed July 27.' 1922 3Sheets-sheaf, 1

. WWM' March 23 1926. 1,577,587

III

flffarraeg.

Patented Mar. 23, 192$.

' UNITED STATES PATENT JOFFlCE.

WILLIAM E. NEWNAM, GI COLLIN SV ILLl Z, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONALLEAD COMPANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

' FURNACE-CHARGING METHOD.

Original application filed July 27', 1922, Serial No. 577,923.

1924. Serial No. 724,369.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM E. NEWNAM, a citizen of the United States,and residing at Collinsville, county of Madison, Illinois, have inventedthe new and useful Improvement in Furnace-Charging Methods, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to furnace charging methods, and moreparticularly to methods adapted for charging lead smelting furnaces.This application is a division of application Serial No. 577,928, filedJuly 27th, 1922.

Lead smelting furnaces are of elongated form and it is necessary tocharge the same periodically with ore, fuel and flux in the properproportions. As such, furnaces must be kept in constant operation, notonly is it necessary that the charging system be simple, but alsoefficient and reliable and at all times under control. The components ofthe charge should also be properly mixed in the furnace.

One of the objects of this invention, therefore, is to provide a methodwhereby the components will be properly assembled and deposited in thefurnace.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method whereby theplacement of the assembled charge in the furnace and the selection ofcomponents to make the charge is under control of the superintend ent. IFurther objects will appear from the detail description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan of a system for carrying out this invention;

Figure 2 is an elevation;

Figure 3 is an end view taken from the left hand end of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the relation of the several parts.

The drawings are diagrannnatical in form, and no attempt has been madeto show detailsof construction, for as to these details, any suitableknown mechanism may be used well known to those skilled in the art.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, and more particularly to Figures1 and 2, arranged along a suitable track 12 are a series of bins 1O, 11,etc., which receive coi ponents of the charge which may be dis- Dividedand this application filed July 5,

tributed in these bins in any suitable manner, as by cars running onoverhead tracks 13 and 14; where the plant is one forthe smelting oflead, the bins are charged withore, fuel and flux. Thus, for example, inFigure 1, the first three bins 10, 11 and 20 may contain coke, bins 21and 30, grey slag,

bins 31 and 40, dross, 41 and .50, grey slag,

51, gravel, 60, limestone and 61, iron cinder.

The components of a charge can, however,

be placed in the bins to suit the requirements or practice of theparticular superintendent of the plant.

The track 12 runs in a sub-way 15 below the floor level of the bins andover this track extend a series of weighing devices 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6which, in the particular embodiment shown, are placed opposite alternatepartitions of the bins. Each of these weighing devices has a pair ofhoppers, each of which has amultiple beam scale. s

The track 12 extends underneath a sinter cake plant 16, such as theusual Dwight Lloyd apparatus, which is provided with outlet hoppers 17and 18 discharging into weighing devices 7 and 8 which may be similar tothe weighing devices lie 6 inclusive.

The track 12 has a branch 19 on thesame level and on which a gatheringcar 22 running on the track may be switched. This gathering car isarranged to run underneath'the weighing devices 1 to 8 inclusive toreceive the charge therein, as hereinafter described. Crossing thebranch track 19 is an inclined track 23 which leads from a pit below thetrack 19 to the furnaces 24 and 25, and on this track is arranged to runa charge car 26. Accordingly the. charge gathered by the gathering carfrom the several weighing devices is dumped into the charge car to aposition therebelow, as shown in Figi'ire 2. The charge car is thenwheeled up the incline and over a selected furnace to dump the chargetherein. For this purpose, suitable cables may be provided or the carsmay be operated electrically as is well known to those skilled in theart;

Referring now to Figure 4, the weighing device shown, aspreviouslyreferred to, is in duplicate and comprises a pair of weighing hoppers27, each of which has a scale, not shown. This scale may be of the multiple beam type having setting devices so that each hopper may haveweighed therein successively from one to four or more differentcomponents of the charge. Such 'multiple beam scales are well known inthe art and a further description thereof is, therefore, unnecessary.

The arrangement of the hoppers and scales for the Dwight Lloyd apparatusis similar to those previously described for the weighing devices 1 to 6inclusive and the same parts are indicated by like reference characters.

The gathering car 22 is shown in outline in Figure 4c and is divided bya transverse partition 44 to divide the hopper or body into two distinctcompartments, one at each end corresponding respectively to the hoppersof a weighing device. This truck may be electrically driven and may beprovided with suitable dumping devices which may, however, be of anysuitable construction well known to those skilled in the art, and afurtheir description thereof is, therefore, unnecessary.

The charge car 26' comprises a suitable hopper or body at? which, as inthe case of the gathering car, is of elongated form and is also dividedby a transverse partition L8 to form two compartments, one at each end.The bottom of thischarge car body is also of the drop type and anysuitable dropping mechanism is provided which may be of any suitableconstruction well known to those skilled in the art.

In the operation of the system embodying this invention, let us take,for example, that the device 1 is loaded with coke from either bin 10 or11, device 8 is loaded with grey slag and dross from bins 3O and 31,device with grey slag from bin 50 and gravel from bin 51, and device 6with limestone from bin 60 and iron cinder from bin 61'. As thegathering car now passes underneath the hoppers at the severalassembling stations, the driver will successively dump the contents intothe gathering car so that when the gathering car reaches the branch 19,it will be fully loaded with the components of the charge successivelydropped therein. As the gathering car is positioned over the charge car,the contents are dumped into the charge car and the latter is wheeled upthe incline and the contents dumped into the furnace.

It will be understood that in some cases a charge of the sinter cakefrom the Dwight Lloyd plant can be weighed into the charge car in asimilar way, either alone or in connection with components of thematerials from the devices 1 to 6 inclusive. It will further beunderstood that a series of components may be placed in a single hopperas the multiple beam scale provides for ready weighing of the same.

In the operation of the plant, no fixed rule need be followed as to theweighing hopper in which a given component is placed, as in practicethis is governed. almost entirely by the nearness of the weighing hopperto the storage bin; the idea being to place the components from any suchstorage bin in the nearest weighing hopper in order to reduce the lengthof haul from the storage bin to the weighing hopper. It is not necessarythat the components be bedded even in the weighing hopper, as they canbe placed at random therein by first drawing from the hopper of thelowest number containing the charge components anddrawing successivelyfrom the other weighing hoppers containing the charge components. Themain purpose of the arrangement of the storage bins and weighing hoppersis to shorten the haul from the storage bins to the weighing hoppers.Accordingly the same charge component can be stored in two or morestorage bins, some times adjoining another" bin located remotely fromthe ex-- hausted bin and placed in the nearest weighing hopper, thusminimizing the haul from the storage blns to the weighing hoppers.

d hile, therefore, the components of the charge are often placed indifferent hoppers, such components are successively picked up as thegathering car passes underneath the same. This is not for the purpose ofbedding the charge but for shortening the haul of any given component orcomponents. As a matter of fact, one hopper will frequently be loadedwith two components which are not bedded even in the weighing hopper.

Upon referring to Figure 4, it will be noted that the lengthor'horizontal extent of the different hoppers, cars and furnace increaseprogressively. Thus, for example, the weighing hoppers 27 have acombined length of eight feet, the gathering car 22 has a length of ninefeet, the charge car 26 has a length of eleven feet, while the furnace25 has an inside measurment of twelve feet, three inches. Thus, it willbe seen that the increase in horizontal extent or length from theweighing hopper to the furnace is over fifty per cent. Thisisadvant'ageous, for as the charge is successively dropped from theweighing hopper to the gathering car, to the charge car, and into thefurnace, this charge is progressively extended or spread out, therebyresulting in a better distribution and mixing of the charge. This mixingis finally accomplished in the furnace where the mixing is provided tocause the charge to spread outwardly toward the sides of the furnace asis required. This charge is, however, simply dropped from the weighinghopper to the gathering car and the charge car.

As previously pointed out, the Weighing devices have duplicate hoppersand these correspond to the compartments of the gathering car and thecharge car. Accordingly the charge is kept in two separate or parallelbodies, one at each end. Accordingly the delivery of the charge to thefurnace can be selectively controlled, for example, if it is desired tovary the charge from one end of the furnace with respect to the other,either in quantities or in components, this can be readily accomplishedby varying the delivery of the components of the charge .to the Weighinghoppers. Thus, where only one weighing hopper of a set is loaded, oneend of the gathering car will be loaded heavier than the other, and inthe same way, the quality and the proportion of the ingredients in theseparate ends can also be varied.

In a plant of this type, it is very essential that the plant be kept incontinuous operation. Accordingly the mechanism, such as the gatheringand charge cars should be in duplicate. In order to provide for thecharge car being duplicated, a reserve car 260 is kept on an elevatedtrack 52 which has a switch 53 suitably controlled by a counter-Weight54 and hoisting cables 55, so that this switch 53 may be dropped down onthe main cross track 23. This allows the reserve car to replace theregular charge car.

WVhile this system has been described as being particularly applicableto a lead smelting plant, it is obvious that many of its features areapplicable to other plants, such as copper smelting plants which alsouse elongated furnaces. It is further obvious that various changes maybe made in details without departing from the spirit of this invention;it is, therefore, to be understood that this invention is not to belimit-ed to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In the art of charging elongated furnaces, the process comprising,weighing and assembling the components of a charge to form a body of thematerial, transferring the body and extending the same horizontally anddepositing the extended body in the furnace.

2. In the art of charging elongated furnaces, the process comprising,weighing and assembling the components of a charge to form a body of thematerial, transferring the body and extending the same horizontally,depositing the body in the furnace and still further extending the sametherein.

3. In the art of charging elongated fur-- naces, the process comprising,assembling the components of a charge to form parallel bodies of thematerial, and transferring the bodies while they are maintainedseparated.

4:. In the art of charging elongated furnaces, the process comprising,assembling the components of a charge to form parallel bodies of thematerial, selectively transfer ring said bodies, and depositingtheselected body in the furnace.

5. In the art of charging elongated furnaces, the process comprising,weighing and assembling the components of a charge to form separateparallel bodies of the mate rial, transferring the separate bodies whilethey are maintained separated, and extending the bodies horizontally.

' 6. In the art of charging elongated furnaces, the process comprising,assembling the components of a charge to form separate parallel bodiesof the material, selectively transferring the separate bodies andextending each body horizontally.

7 In the art of charging elongated furnaces, the process comprising,assembling the components of a charge at a station in order to form abody of the material, transferring the body'and extending the samehorizontally before depositing the charge in the furnace.

8. In the art of charging elongated furnaces, the process comprising,assembling the components of a charge at a series of stations, with oneor more components assembled at each station, gathering the componentsfrom the several stations to form a charge, extending the gatheredcharge horizontally, and depositing the extended charge in the furnace.

9. In the art of charging elongated furnaces, the process comprising,assembling the components of a charge at a series of stations, with oneor more components assembled at each station, gathering the com-.ponents from the several stations, transferring the gathered charge andextending the same horizontally before depositing the charge in thefurnace.

10. In the art of charging elongated furnaces, the process comprising,assembling the components of a charge at a series of stations, with oneor more components assembled at each station, gathering the componentsfrom the several stations to form separate parallel charge bodies,transferring and extending the separate bodies, and depositing thegathered charge in the furnace.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature this 18th day of June, 1924.

WILLIAM E. NEWNAM.

